A BOY'S OFFERING 

BS \nd Other Bible Stories 



.P\33 




t;^f 



* 



By OLIVER OLDMAN 




Class 1 . 

Book *i l-Jo 



Copyright^ .. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 






f, 




-&S55I 



Copyright, 1913 
by American Tract Society. 



- 



CI.A361064 

^4 / 



Vs. 



FOREWORD 



(V 



Robert Southey, the English poet, in 
"How the Water Comes Down at Lo- 
dore," makes plain the origin of that 
fascinating rhyme. He wrote those 
jingling verses for the children first. 
Lewis Carroll, to whom the world of 
childhood is deeply indebted for "Alice 
in Wonderland/' originally wrote the 
first chapters of that delicious nonsense 
for the children of his friends. 

These unique and fascinating stories by 
"Oliver Oldman" we owe to his desire 
to put into fresh form for his daugh- 
ter's children some of the ancient tales 
of the Hebrew and Christian Scrip- 
tures. 

I have read these stories by "Oliver 
Oldman" more than once. They give 
a new, fresh and w T onderful sense of the 
historicity of the events they narrate. 
They have the effect of transporting us 
across the seas and across the centuries 
to Palestine, the land of holy mem- 
ories, and of enabling us to perceive 
more clearly the circumstantial setting 





Foreword 



of pictures which, without such aid, are 



V 

X 



>K 




very likely to be but dimly seen. 

The author (who writes under the 
pen name of "Oliver Oldman") is a dis- 
tinguished attorney now retired from 
active practice in order to devote his 
time to literary and benevolent work. 
His record is an admirable one, as college 
student who left the classroom to become 
a soldier in the Civil War ; as a success- 
ful counsellor and advocate; as a mem- 
ber of a State Board of Charities; as a 
Bible Class teacher and church officer. 
I am glad that he has consented to the 
publication of these products of his facile 
pen. They will add another distinction 
to his list of honors and services. 

In writing this introduction I serve 
not as one who unveils a portrait or 
introduces a speaker. Let me but open 
the door for one of the Master's message- 
bearers. 

Charles Carroll Albertson, 
Lafayette Ave. Presbyterian Church, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 



3 











A BOY'S OFFERING. 



HEN Andrew, the fisherman's 
son, was about twelve years old 




fw...._. 

he was standing, one bright day, on the 
«... shore of the lake of Galilee, waiting for 
his father 's boat. Large numbers of fish 
were being caught with nets. The dry- 
ing or pickling of the small fish was a 
considerable industry at Bethsaida as 
well as at Capernaum. The fishermen 
usually sold their fish to the people liv- 
ing in Bethsaida or to the merchants 
engaged in the business, and the fish 
were dried or pickled and used for food 
during the balance of the year. The 
fish were not large, about six or seven 
inches in length, and somewhat re- 
sembled the English herring. Usually 
three or four men had a boat and nets 
in common and divided the catch or the 
proceeds if sold. 

Andrew's father and mother lived 
not far from the lake on its east side 
and but a short distance south of the 
populous city of Bethsaida. It was 
about seven miles across the lake to the 











A Boy's Offering 

larger city of Capernaum, from which 
a large fleet of boats with fishermen 
went out each morning with their nets. 

It was Andrew's custom to go down 
to the lake every afternoon with a bas- 
ket of cakes and a few dried fish and 
await his father's coming. The boy's 
basket of supper was always welcome, 
as the father rested a while before fin- 
ishing his work for the day. 

Andrew was named after his Uncle 
Andrew, his mother's brother. His 
uncles, Andrew and Peter, lived in 
Bethsaida and had been fishermen, but 
had given up their boat and nets and 
become the followers of the prophet who 
said he had come to "prepare the way 
of the Lord/' and afterward they had 
become followers of the Nazarene. They 
were with the latter during his stay in 
Capernaum and vicinity and had wit- 
nessed the many wonderful works he 
had performed. 

In their visits to their sister the uncles 
had told of the enmity of the Roman 
Governor and were very thankful his 
jurisdiction did not extend beyond and 
east of the Jordan where Bethsaida was 
situated; the river empties into the lake 

6 





A Boy's Offering 

just south of Bethsaida. The uncles 
loved the Nazarene and feared for his 
safety and had urged him to retire from 
the wicked governor's jurisdiction and 
cross the lake from Capernaum, or fol- 






>K 




low the road around its head and cross 
the river at the fords. This wicked Bo- 
man governor had only a few weeks be- 
fore beheaded the prophet whom the 
uncles formerly followed, and the boy 
Andrew and also his father and mother 
were greatly grieved as the uncles had 
told of this wicked deed. 

The boy, with basket in hand, was 
watching the approach of his father's 
boat. It was only about three o'clock 
in the afternoon, and it was unusual to 
see his father coming in much before 
sunset. The boy also noticed that a 
very large number of boats were ap- 
proaching the shore. One in advance 
contained a dozen or more men. Look- 
ing towards the head of the lake, An- 
drew saw a great number of people com- 
ing towards him. Some were carrying 
sick folks or crippled friends, and oth- 
ers, dressed in bright-hued Oriental gar- 
ments, were evidently pilgrims on their 
way to Jerusalem to attend the ap- 






A Boy's Offering 

proaching Passover. Every spring 
great numbers came around the head of 
the lake and Whence down through Pergea 
to Jerusalem, as the route that way was 
far less mountainous. 

As the father 's boat was pulled up on 
the shore the lad said, "Thou art in 
early, my father. Didst have good suc- 
cess to-day ?" 

"No, my son, the great number of 
boats coming to our shore have driven 
away the fish." 

"But w T hy are all these boats coming 
to our shore?" asked the boy anxiously. 
"What has happened?" 

"Look, my son, dost thou see that 
larger boat with thy Uncle Andrew pull- 
ing an oar in its bow ? ' ' 

"I do, my father, and is not that my 
Uncle Peter sitting near him and also 
pulling an oar?" 

"Yes, my son, and the man in the 
stern is the Nazarene'of whom we have 
heard so much. I think they will come 
ashore near here and perchance we shall 
hear his voice. If the people ask him 
he will heal their sick. ' ' 

Soon the boat with the Nazarene was 
pulled up on the shore, and he and his 

8 



\ 





£ 




A Boy's Offering 

followers set out for the low hills not 
far distant. 

In the springtime these mountain- 
slopes were covered with a rich growth 
of green grass. Here and there were 
springing up wild flowers, filling the air 
with their delicate perfume. If the 
Nazarene sought rest and quiet these 
hills afforded an excellent opportunity. 
There were ravines with running 
streams and hiding-places among the 
great rocks. Even now the declining 
sun lit up the hills and valleys and the 
huge rocks cast deep shadows. 

In the meantime the crowd had in- 
creased in numbers both from the boats 
and the approaches from the head of the 
lake. There were great numbers of wom- 
en and children, all pressing forward 
and following the Nazarene. Here was 
a woman carrying a little boy. Both of 
his legs were paralyzed, and with an 
outstretched hand she cried, "Hear me, 
Master, and heal my child!" 

None of the people were dressed in 
costly garments ; all seemed to be of the 
poor. Two men were carrying a young 
m an on a rude bed ; one was evidently 
the father of the helpless cripple. His 



m 



& 






(K 







A Boy's Offering 

voice could be heard above the others 
crying, "Stay, good Master, and speak 
to my son that he may rise and walk!" 

Some one in the crowd had cried with 
a loud voice, "Do not disturb the 
Master; let him rest a while and com- 
mune with his disciples." At this the 
people halted on the green hillside and 
there awaited the return of the Nazarene 
from the hills beyond. Some of them, 
overtired from their long journey, slept, 
while others watched with eager eyes 
for the Master's return. Mothers spoke 
soothingly to their sick children, telling 
them the Master would heal them and 
they would be well and strong again. 

Towards the close of the day the cries 
of the afflicted and their friends had 
ceased and a reverent silence prevailed 
as the Nazarene was seen approaching, 
accompanied by his faithful disciples. 

Andrew and his father had joined the 
people, leaving the boat in charge of the 
other members of the crew. The boy 
still had on his arm the basket with his 
father's supper, and together they fol- 
lowed on towards the place on the hill- 
side where the people had assembled. As 
the Nazarene approached the lad saw his 

10 




% 




cr* 




A Boy's Offering 

Uncle Andrew, and speaking to his 
father, said, 

"My father, I should love to hear the 
Nazarene talk to the people, but I am 
so small I can hardly see him here ; may 
I not run on and stand near my uncle? 
I shall then both see and hear. ' ' 

"Yes, my son; I will stop here and 
await thee. ' ' 

There were other boys in that hungry 
crowd, and they set upon Andrew, de- 
termined to snatch from him the con- 
tents of his basket ; but being both quick 
of foot and strong of arm he dodged 
and fought his way through until he 
stood beside his Uncle Andrew. Here 
he saw wonderful sights as one after 
another of the people brought their sick 
folks to the Nazarene, and in every case 
they were instantly healed and went 
aside praising God while their places 
were taken by others. Some were un- 
able to walk, and were carried and laid 
down at the feet of the Nazarene; others 
with withered legs hobbled into his pres- 
ence by the aid of wooden crutches. 

Andrew was greatly interested as he 
looked upon the compassionate face of 
the Nazarene, and he could see that it 





& 



A Boy's Offering 

was out of love for the people that these 
wonderful works of healing were be- 
ing performed. It was with but few 
words that the sick were made whole or 
the cripples to walk, but usually with a 
tender voice and an uplifting hand the 
Nazarene said, 

"Hast thou faith, my son?" or 
"Canst thou believe, my daughter?" 

The lad observed the wonderment of 
the people at the marvelous cures. He 
saw the half-angry, half-puzzled attitude 
of his uncle and the other disciples. He 
heard the exclamations of gratitude, the 
gesticulations of others pressing forward 
in the crowd, demanding that room 
should be made for them and the sick 
they carried forward. He noticed the 
change in the friends of those who were 
healed from physical weariness to satis- 
faction and joy over the restoration to 
health of body or wholeness of limbs of 
their loved ones. 

Observing the basket on the boy's 
arm, the uncle said, 

"What hast thou in the basket, An- 
drew ? ' ' 

I have a few cakes for my father's 
supper and a few dried fish, but we shall 






viv 



A Boy's Offering 

go home for our evening meal and thou 
art welcome to them, my uncle." 

It was then that the boy's Uncle Peter 
besought the Nazarene to send the peo- 
ple home, as the day was now far spent 
and there was nothing for them to eat; 
but turning to his disciples the Master 
said, 

' ' They need not depart ; give ye them 
to eat." 

"But," said one, "we have neither 
food nor money with which to buy 
enough for this great gathering." 

Then spake the Uncle Andrew and 
said : ' ' The lad here ' ' — putting his hand 
gently on his nephew's head — "has 
five cakes and two fishes, but what are 
they to so great a multitude as are here 
assembled?" 

46 Bring them to me, Andrew," said 
the Nazarene to his disciple. 

Then he commanded that the people 
should sit down on the grass and this 
they did, forming into long rows of fifty 
or one hundred in each row. The lad 
joyously handed the basket to his uncle, 
and when the Nazarene had taken the 
cakes and fish from the basket he looked 
up to heaven and blessed them. 

13 



N^v 




\ 





£ 



f 
V 
A 



v 



A Boy's Offering 

Then began he to break the cakes and 
pass them out to his disciples, and they 
were marvelously multiplied in his 
hands so that as fast as his disciples 
could distribute the bread the supply 
continued to increase. The dried fish 
were also multiplied in like wonderful 
manner, and all of the men and women 
and children had to eat in abundance, 
and there was food to spare. 

Once during the distribution of the 
bread the Nazarene turned towards the 
boy and looked at him. It was a loving 
look and something in its expression 
seemed to fill the lad with a great joy. 
Soon Andrew joined his father, and 
starting for their home they talked to- 
gether of the wonderful things they had 
seen. 

When they reached their home in the 
early evening they could see the people 
returning, some towards Bethsaida and 
others around the head of the lake to- 
ward Capernaum, and out upon the lake 
was a large fleet of returning boats. 

Andrew told his mother all that had 
occurred and especially about the loving 
look he had received from the Nazarene. 
His mother said, 

14 









1 



<m 





rtv 




A Boy's Offering 

"I bless thee, my son! My heart re- 
joices that it was our cakes and fish and 
that it was my boy God hath so greatly 
blessed. " 

Then spake Eli, the boy's father: 
"The Nazarene can be none other than 
the Messiah. Some of the people said 
he was Elijah returned to earth, and oth- 
ers that he was one of the old prophets 
risen again. All seemed to love him and 
to hear his words with gladness. There 
were at least five thousand men in this 
great company besides the women and 
children, and yet all were fed. As we 
were coming away his disciples were 
gathering up the fragments of the bread 
and fish." 

"I wish, mother," said Andrew, "that 
thou couldst have seen him. I cannot de- 
scribe his face to thee, but he did seem 
to be very tired and without much rest, 
with so many following him with their 
sick, and yet he was so kind and tender 
with each. He would take the sick by 
the hand and lift them up from their 
beds, and immediately they were well 
again. One of the men, who was a crip- 
ple and whose legs were made strong 
again, wanted to fall down and worship 



vj 



IS 



A Boy's Offering 




r* 




xs. 




the Nazarene, but he would not suffer 
it to be done. He did not speak to me 
as I gave the basket to my uncle, but I 
shall never forget his face as he looked 
at me. I loved him at once and I know 
he loves boys, and as for myself, I shall 
become one of his followers when I am 
old enough.' ' 

Taking her lad in her arms the moth- 
er said, "Thou art but a child; thou 
mayest never see the Nazarene 's face 
again on this side of the lake; but sure- 
ly the God of Jacob will bless this day 
to thee, my son, and as thou growest in- 
to manhood I pray that the recollection 
of his loving look will incline thy heart 
to follow his teachings." 











THE SCARLET CORD. 





THE hosts of Israel were encamped 
upon the plains before Jericho and 
the long-sought-for promised land was in 
view. The great leader who had brought 
them forth from their bondage was dead 
and the new leader selected by the Lord 
was now in command. 

Shemuel and Elidad, young men of 
valor, stood in the presence of the lead- 
er of the people, who spake to them, 
saying, 

"Ye two men of Israel have been se- 
lected to perform a most dangerous and 
important mission. Beyond the river is 
the walled city of the enemy. Thither 
go ye, see the means of approach, ex- 
amine the gates and entrances as well 
as the walls of the city, and gain access 
within. Learn all ye can about the food 
supply of the city, and return at your 
earliest opportunity and make report to 
me." 

Shemuel said, "If the Lord be with 
us we shall not fear ; we will go forth as 
thou hast commanded, unarmed, except 



17 





A Boy's Offering 

as the Lord is our shield and our buck- 
ler." And bowing low, the two young 
men withdrew from the tent of the lead- 
er of the people. 

Shemuel was about thirty years of age 
and his cousin Elidad but a few years 
his junior. Both had been born since 
the escape of their people from bondage. 
They were fair-haired, though dark of 
skin owing to much exposure on their 
long journey northward. They were 
noted in their tribe for deeds of valor, 
and, having been constant companions 
since their youth, were selected by the 
head of their tribe as best fitted for the 
duty required. 

They realized the danger of the under- 
taking and knew that they would be in- 
stantly put to death should they gain 
access to the city and their identity be 
disclosed. They must cut off their long 
flowing hair, assume the garb of the 
peasants of the vicinity and join them- 
selves to some of the parties entering 
the city on the market day with articles 
of food for sale. During the few hours 
of preparation for the journey their 
families gathered around them and 
many suggestions were offered. 

18 






The Scarlet Cord 

They felt greatly honored to be thus 
chosen, and as night came on and the 
morrow was the market day, they set out 
upon their journey, hoping to reach the 
fords of the river by dawn of the next 
day. The stars seemed unusually bril- 
liant and lighted their way as with long 
strides the cousins hastened on through 
the night. 

"Dost think, Shemuel," said Elidad, 
"that we should separate at early dawn 
and endeavor to enter the gates with dif- 
ferent parties and, if necessary, by dif- 
ferent gates ? ' ' 

"Yes, good Elidad, and when once 
within the gates it shall be at the east 
gate or near it that we await each other. 
Should I enter by the east gate, I will 
await thee there, and do thou likewise 
by me." 

They found at the ford a large com- 
pany preparing to enter the city. Hav- 
ing separated, they mixed with the 
herdsmen and others and at early dawn 
the whole company set forth towards the 
city gates. 

Elidad had purchased a lamb of a 
man who had a few sheep he was driv- 
ing to the market. As he carried the 

19 








A Boy's Offering 

lamb on his shoulders, he could walk 
with his head bowed down and was not 
subject to close scrutiny. 

Shemuel had engaged himself to a 
drover with a number of oxen also in- 
tended for the city market-place, and in 
the midst of the animals, leading or driv- 
ing them, he also was quite free from 
suspicion. 

They approached the east gate, and as 
it opened the crowd pressed forward for 
entrance. The guard at the gates seemed 
to be occupied in the purchase of fruits 
or doves and gave little heed to the 
faces of the men passing in. Covered 
with dust and in the midst of the ox- 
en Shemuel passed through, and soon 
saw his cousin Elidad with the lamb on 
his shoulders standing near a house built 
against the inner surface of the massive 
walls. 

"I must leave you here, good friend/ ' 
said Shemuel to the drover. 

"Thank you, my brother, " said the 
drover. "Will you join me on our 
homeward journey? I can promise you 
a good supper at the ford of the river 
to-night if I sell my oxen." 

Shemuel replied, "I cannot now say, 

20 







jL 



£ 

V 




(X 




The Scarlet Cord 

my good friend, how long I shall remain 
in the city." 

Approaching his cousin, he observed 
him in conversation with a woman. The 
lamb had been offered by Elidad to the 
woman in return for lodging in her 
house for himself and his companion. 
The woman looked at the lamb but little, 
but closely observed the two fine-looking 
young men. She was dressed in a gaudy 
robe tied about with a golden cord. She 
had painted her dark cheeks with crim- 
son coloring and in her ears were large 
earrings of polished gold. While her 
hair was black, her eyes seemed still 
blacker, flashing above her high cheek 
bones at each utterance. 

Finding she was observed, she bade 
the cousins follow her at a short distance 
as she led the way down a deserted street 
to her lodgings, which were in a house 
built against the inside of the wall. 
Elidad, still carrying his sheep, and 
Shemuel, dust covered, a short distance 
behind, they entered the door of the 
woman's house. Having given the lamb 
to a servant, the woman conducted the 
men to an upper room. Here she gave 
them water with which to wash and also 

21 





A Boy's Offering 

a good supply of oat-cakes and fruit for 
their breakfast. 

Then the woman said to them, "I 
know you as men of Israel, but fear not ; 
you shall abide here during the day and 
at night you can, if you wish, go out 
about the city. I will furnish you meat 
and lodging and much better disguise 
than you now have. ' ' 

The cousins rested during the day, 
but at night they set forth to examine 
the city and its walls and its means of 
defence. They listened as they stood 
in dark places and heard the men of war 
of the city tell of their number and of 
the impossibility of taking the city by 
the advancing men of Israel. All night 
they kept up their investigations unmo- 
lested and at early dawn returned to 
their lodgings. 

The cousins were sleeping in the up- 
per room a little past midday when they 
were awakened by loud pounding on the 
street door. The woman dashed into the 
room and bade them follow her. Behind 
•a drapery she pressed a spring and a 
door opened into a secret chamber. Into 
this she hurried her guests, shut the door 
and covered it again with the drapery. 



V 










The Scarlet Cord 

Then quickly descending to the street, 
she threw wide open her door and faced 
the officer and his soldiers, her black 
eyes flashing like darts of fire as she de- 
manded the reason for this pounding up- 
on her door. 

"It hath come to the knowledge of the 
king/' spake the officer, "that you have 
in your house two men of Israel who 
have come here to search out our city. 
Bring them forth, I command you in the 
name of the king, else we shall search 
the house and fetch them." 

The woman, still standing in her door- 
way, smiled at the officer, showing her 
beautiful white teeth, and said, 

"Two men of Israel were here in my 
house yesterday. They left last night 
just at dark and at about the time of 
the shutting of the gates; where they 
went I wot not. It were foolish of you 
to delay to search my house, but do so 
if you will. Tell the king to hasten 
after these men and overtake them at 
the ford of the river." 

The officer and his men hurried off 
towards the city gates and the woman 
went at once to the secret chamber to 
release the men. They were nearly suf- 



23 



X 



k 



A Boy's Offering 

focated and were much pleased as the 
woman led them up .on the roof of the 
house. 

In the meantime the officer and his 
men were hastening on out of the east 
gate and towards the river in the hope 
of catching the Israelites resting at the 
fords. 

Upon the roof of the house were many- 
bundles of flax. The woman bade them 
lie down and said she would cover them 
with the flax. Before covering them she 
stood with a bundle of flax in her arms 
and looking at the men she said, 

' ' I know that the Lord hath given you 
this land and that your terror is fallen 
upon us. We have heard of your exodus 
from Egypt and what your people have 
done to the kings on the other side of 
the river. As soon as we heard these 
things our hearts did melt, neither did 
there remain any more courage in any 
man because of you, for the Lord your 
God He is God in heaven above and in 
earth beneath, and we know that He will 
help you in your conquests." 

Then spake Shemuel to the woman 
and said, "What shall we render unto 
thee for thy kindness unto us? Speak, 






\\ 



c 






The Scarlet Cord 

I pray thee, and anything that is in our 
power shall be granted unto thee." 

' ' Swear unto me by your Lord, ' ' said 
the woman, "that you will also show 
kindness unto my father's house; that 
you will save alive my father and my 
mother and my brethren and my sisters 
and all that they have and deliver our 
lives from death. " 

"Our life instead of thine, if thou 
utter not this our business, " replied 
Shemuel, adding, "When the Lord hath 
given us this land we will deal kindly 
and truly with thee." 

The night came on and the gates were 
closed. The woman knew full well that 
the search of her house would be re- ^ 
newed in the morning. She prepared Ur? 
food enough for the two men for three 
days and brought them from their 
hiding-place under the flax on the roof 
to her upper chamber, which had a win- 
dow looking out over the wall. She then 
produced a scarlet cord and, attaching 
it to a basket, prepared to lower the 
cousins from the window down outside 
the wall. Before doing so she took the 
hands of Shemuel and Elidad in hers 
and in a trembling voice said to them, 

25 






A Boy's Offering 

"I have been a bad woman in this 
city. I am called by an evil name and 
the king and all of his officers know of 
my evil ways, but now my heart is truly 
turned to the God of Israel. By faith 
in your God I shall set you free. Hasten 
this night to the mountains and hide you 
there for three days while the officer 
and his men are searching for you. 
After three days come down from the 
mountains and cross the river by the 
upper ford. Do this at night and then 
hasten on to your own people." 

The woman was much affected and a 
tear ran down her cheek as, still holding 
their hands, she said, 

1 ' Canst give me a true token that this 
your oath towards me and my house will 
be kept?" 

"Take this scarlet rope," said Shem- 
uel, "and bind it in this window from 
which thou art to lower us down, then 
lose no time in the matter, but 
bring thou home unto this house thy 
father and thy mother and thy brethren 
and all thy father's household. When 
we capture this city let none of thy 
household go out of the house, and who- 
soever shall be with thee in the house, 

26 






The Scarlet Cord 







"N 



his blood shall be on our head if any 
hand be upon him." 

Elidad was much moved at the kind- 
ness of the woman and her acceptance 
by faith of the God of Israel as her God, 
and before stepping into the basket he 
said to her, "Be careful, woman, and 
do not disclose to any one our visit or 
our business here. If thou shouldst do 
so it would free us from our oath which 
we have sworn unto thee and the scarlet 
cord will avail thee naught. And now 
may the God of Israel watch over thee 
and thy household until we meet 
again ! ' ' 

"Fear not, good sir," she replied; 
"no word of mine shall reveal your mis- 
sion into the city." 

One at a time did she lower the cous- 
ins from the window into the darkness, 
but outside the wall. Then, detaching 
the scarlet cord from the basket, she 
bound it in and out of the window, 
leaving its scarlet ends hanging down 
from the window and along the wall. 

Shemuel and Elidad hastened on 
through the night, guided in their jour- 
ney by the brightness of the stars. Soon 
the morning sun, coming up in a blaze 



3 



27 



s 



A Boy's Offering 

of glory, shone upon them in a ravine in 
the foot of the mountains. There was a 
cooling stream of water near their hid- 
ing-place and they had an ample supply 
of food which the woman had furnished. 
Here in seclusion they remained for 
three days as the woman had advised 
them to do. 

At early dawn an officer with soldiers 
pounded upon the door of the woman's 
house and demanded admission. She 
threw wide open the door, her black 
eyes flashing with anger as she said to 
them, 

"Search! yea, search! Did I not tell 
you that the men of Israel had departed 
and I wot not whither they have gone? 
When ye have searched my house hasten 
to the fords of the river and mayhap ye 
will find them there." 

Not satisfied, the soldiers did search 
the woman's house and she laughed at 
them as they departed. 

For three days the soldiers of the king 
went in every direction in search of the 
men, and, returning, reported to the 
king that the men had crossed the river 
and returned to the hosts of Israel en- 
camped upon the plains. 

28 






The Scarlet Cord 




r* 




Under cover of the night the cousins 
found the upper ford of the river and 
at early dawn crossed over and has- 
tened on to their tribe and friends. 

There was great rejoicing in the camp 
when Shemuel and Elidad returned. 
The many prayers to the God of Israel 
for their safety had been truly answered. 

The new leader of the people was in 
his tent, having been apprised of the 
safe return of his messengers, and await- 
ed their report. He was himself a mighty 
man of valor. The Lord had chosen him 
as the leader of the people and had bid- 
den him go over the river and possess 
the land. The Lord had said to him, 
"Be strong and of good courage; be not 
affrighted, neither be thou dismayed 
for Jehovah thy God is with thee 
whithersoever thou goest." 

Already the command had gone forth 
to prepare to advance across the river, 
and the entire host was only awaiting 
the word of their leader to move for- 
ward. 

Shemuel and Elidad entered the tent 
of the leader and told him all of the 
things they had both seen and heard. 
They told him of the massive walls which 








ILL 




A Boy's Offering 

surrounded the city and how utterly- 
useless an attack upon them seemed un- 
less the Lord should help them. They told 
of the fords of the river and the several 
highways leading from the fords to the 
city gates. They described the location 
of the gates and gave an estimate of the 
number of men of war the king had to 
aid in the defence of the city. They told 
of the kindness of the woman, how she 
had saved their lives and had lowered 
them down from her window. They 
told of their oath to the woman and the 
token of the scarlet cord by which she 
and her family should be saved. 

The new leader said to them, "Ye 
have done well, good Shemuel and 
Elidad. Ye shall each be appointed a 
captain of a hundred men of war. Ye 
shall lead in the advance upon the city, 
for the Lord will surely deliver it into 
our hands.'' 9 

Then he called to his tent the officers 
of the people and charged them with 
many things, but especially in regard to 
the house with the scarlet cord. Forty 
thousand men of war went forth and the 
Lord God was with them. Even the wa- 
ters of the river miraculously ceased to 

30 





(X 




The Scarlet Cord 

flow so that the advancing host of Israel 
passed over the river dry-shod. 

Then an angel with a drawn sword 
appeared to the leader of the people and 
said he was the/ 'Captain of the hosts of 
the Lord." He gave the leader minute 
directions as to the methods to be adopt- 
ed in the falling of the massive walls. 
And so it was that the hosts of Israel 
followed precisely the way the Lord di- 
rected and in due time the walls of the 
city fell and the enemy was completely 
surrounded by the forty thousand men 
of war of Israel. 

"When the walls fell the leader com- 
manded that Shemuel and Elidad and 
their men should first of all bring forth 
from the city the woman and all of her 
household. They went in and brought out 
"her and her father and her mother and 
her brethren and all that she had, and 
they brought out all her kindred and 
left them without the camp of Israel/ ' 

The city was then burned with fire 
and every living thing therein was put 
to death. 

The woman and her kindred dwelt 
with the children of Israel and by adop- 
tion became a part of one of the tribes. 




s 




A Boy's Offering 

They forsook their idolatry and learned 
to serve the true and living God, and 
the woman herself did cease from all of 
her evil ways and did serve the Lord 
with purity of heart. The scarlet cord 
became a sign and token worn by the 
woman and her kindred, as it did signify 
"thus the Lord did save us/' and she 
and her kinsmen joined in the song of 
Miriam : 

"Sing ye to the Lord, 
For he hath triumphed gloriously !' ' 
Many, many years afterwards the au- 
thor of the Epistle to the Hebrews in- 
cluded this woman in a list of notable 
persons whose faith had been great. 





a 



THE STRONGER HAND. 

TIRZAH, my daughter, can we not 
rest here for the night?" 

Thus spake the aged and blind patri- 
arch as the caravan had halted on its 
course toward the Judsean hills. 

"Doth not my father remember,' ' an- 
swered the daughter, "how the mes- 
senger from Shebna my brother bade us 
hasten to the walls of the city?" 

A mighty king from the East, with a 
great army, was invading the country. 
The aged Eliakim had dwelt in peace in 
the fruitful valley whence he and his 
daughter had fled. Blind these many 
years, he had had in his devoted daugh- 
ter Tirzah not alone eyes to see but 
hands to guide with that loving filial 
tenderness so characteristic of the Jew- 
ish maiden towards father or mother. 
When the mother, Sarah, had died, 
Eliakim naturally turned to this moth- 
erless daughter to take the place of the 
devoted wife who had led and loved him. 

Shebna, the only other child, was of 
scholarly attainments. His reputation as 






A Boy's Offering 




\ 



(N 




a scribe had gone out over Judaea from 
the peaceful valley of his fathers, and a 
few years before he had been summoned 
to the walled city to become scribe to 
the then reigning king. 

That the oncoming and invading army 
would destroy every growing crop, burn 
every house and hamlet, cut down every 
vine and every fig-tree, was known to 
Shebna through the messengers who had 
hurried forward to the court of the king 
in the walled city. The king had grant- 
ed his scribe's request that a messenger 
be sent to his father Eliakim, bidding 
him make great haste with Tirzah and 
such of the flocks as could endure the 
rapid journey, and seek refuge within 
the walls ere the enemy should reach 
their valley. 

Thus it was that the aged Eliakim and 
the beautiful Tirzah, with but a single 
bondman, a few goats, and several asses 
laden with the most precious of their 
family relics, had in much haste jour- 
neyed on. Their caravan had halted in a 
valley where there was water for the suf- 
fering animals. Before them were the 
Judsean hills and beyond the hills was 
the walled city, the throne of the king, 

34 



<v 





^ 




The Stronger Hand 

and their refuge. Night had already 
come on ere they had halted. Above 
them shone the stars, brilliant in the 
clear Judgean air. 

Tirzah had walked the whole day, 
leading the ass upon which was seated 
her blind and aged father. Her sandals 
were cut in many places by the sharp 
stones in the pathway, her feet were 
bleeding and sore, her throat parched 
from breathing the dust created by the 
other refugees fleeing on in their haste 
to escape. Though others from their 
valley had already reached the hills be- 
yond, Tirzah, moving more slowly than 
they, had but now reached the last of 
the valleys. 

"My father shall rest here for a short 
time, and then if all is well we shall 
hope to enter the city on the morrow. 
I shall hope to see the beautiful city 
when the next sun shall rise and shine 
upon it and its glory. " 

Thus spake Tirzah, placing a robe 
upon the ground and leading her father 
to it that he might lie down and rest 
for an hour. 

Tirzah, in a light garment extending 
but little below her knees, her black hair 




£ 



I 



<^\ 






A Boy's Offering 

hanging in loose braids down her back, 
looked more like a girl of fifteen than 
the woman of thirty she really was. She 
was seated near her now sleeping father, 
her eyes upon the stars, her thoughts 
upon her brother and the hope of safety 
from the enemy. She had hurriedly left 
the home of her childhood and her tears 
had fallen as she had looked back upon 
its vine-covered roof and its shade-af- 
fording fig-trees. 

Hardly an hour had thus passed when 
she was startled by & cry from a passing 
horseman : 

"Fly! Eliakim and Tirzah! Fly! Al- 
ready the horsemen of the enemy were 
approaching our valley as I left a few 
hours ago!" 

"0 God of Abraham and of Isaac and 
of Jacob, hear thy servant and save us 
from our enemies!" was the prayer of 
the awakened patriarch as they again 
set out over the rough way with but 
the stars to guide their steps. 

Great was the anxiety of the devoted 
daughter as others more fleet of foot 
passed them during the night. The way 
itself was difficult in daylight and now 
rendered more so by the comparative 








The Stronger Hand 

darkness of the night. With longing 
eyes as they pressed forward she watched 
the east for the first signs of approaching 
day. When the morning sun did come 
forth Tirzah's heart rejoiced to see their 
city of refuge but a short distance before 
them. 

Shebna, who had watched from the 
walls through the long night and had 
anxiously searched for his father and 
sister through the throngs entering the 
city gates, sprang forward to meet them 
as he recognized them in their approach. 
They were among the very last to enter 
before the gates of the city closed and 
were securely barricaded. 

Shebna had been able to secure an up- 
per room near the south gate, and after 
conducting his father and sister to their 
temporary abode and directing the 
bondman as to the disposition of their 
little flock and scanty supplies, he hur- 
ried away to be in attendance upon the 
king. 

When the night came on Shebna 
sought his father's room, and, seated to- 
gether, they talked of the approaching 
enemy and the utter destruction of all 
the cities before their onslaught. The 



m 





(C 



V 



\ 





a 



A Boy's Offering 

situation was serious, for even this city 
was ill prepared to feed and house the 
multitude flocking thither for refuge. 
Already the supply of food was becom- 
ing short and the market-places aban- 
doned. 

1 ' Shebna, my son, ' ' said the patriarch, 
"it hath grieved me much that our king 
hath forsaken the God of our fathers 
and hath set up temples and shrines of 
his own making. How shall these strange 
gods help us? "What news hast thou, 
my son, of this day ? ' ' 

"The enemy," said Shebna f "is en- 
camped in great numbers but a short 
distance from the city. The invading 
king sent a messenger this afternoon to 
cry out to our men of war upon the 
walls, saying, 'Send forth a messenger 
to treat with my lord the king!' Then 
said our king to me, ' Shebna, my trusted 
scribe, take two others with you and go 
out to hear what this messenger shall 
say, but I command you answer him not 
at all until you have returned with his 
message to me!" 

So I took with me Hilkiah's son and 
Asaph's son, the recorder for the kino 1 , 
and went out to meet the haughty mes- 






The Stronger Hand 



A 




senger near the south gate. The walls 
about were crowded with our men of 
war. The messenger shouted his mes- 
sage in the Jewish tongue so that all our 
men of war could hear his words. I 
tried to induce him to speak in another 
tongue with which I was familiar, as 
I did not wish to have our men upon the 
walls hear his threatenings, but he would 
not. 

"He cried aloud that all the other 
cities in their pathway had surrendered 
to his king; that their gods were not 
able to help them; that our source of 
water-supply would soon be cut off, as 
he had already taken possession of the 
conduit of the upper pool. He even said 
that the Lord sent him against us. 

"With a loud voice he said, 'Let not 
your king deceive you. Believe him not 
when he says he expects help from 
Egypt. That help is a broken reed al- 
ready, and if he lean upon it his hand 
will be pierced. If ye say ye trust in 
the Lord God Jehovah, then why did 
your king long since forsake him and 
build altars of his own ? Open the gates 
to us and come forth. I will furnish 
you two thousand horses if ye can fur- 

39 










\ 





A Boy's Offering 

nish that number of horsemen to ride 
them. ' 

" Again he cried, 'Hear me, ye men of 
Israel on the walls ! The king is false to 
you. Why should ye starve in the city ? 
Come out to us and ye shall sit under 
your own vines and fig-trees and drink 
the waters of your own cisterns until 
my king can carry you away to a land 
like your own, a land of corn and wine, 
of bread and of vineyards. ' ' ' 

"And what saidst thou to this messen- 
ger, my good Shebna?" asked Eliakim. 

1 ' By the king 's command, my father, ' ' 
replied Shebna, "I did not answer him. 
I was greatly distressed as I returned to 
the king with my report. I knew, and 
thou hadst often told me, that our king 
had forsaken the Lord and in his pride 
had built altars of his own. So with my 
clothes rent in my grief I appeared be- 
fore the king and told him all the things 
the messenger had said." 

"What said the king, my son?" in- 
quired the old man. 

"The king was sore distressed and 
rent his clothes and said, 'Lead on, 
Shebna ! I will go unto the house of the 
Lord. Go thou to the prophet of Israel 

40 




<0s 



<JSS3 





The Stronger Hand 

and say to him that the king hath re- 
pented of his evil ways and is in the 
house of the Lord and would commune 
with the holy prophet. Bid him come 
quickly/ " 

" Didst see the holy prophet, my son?" 
interrupted Eliakim, half rising in his 
eagerness. 

"Yes, my father," answered the 
scribe, ' ' and I said to him, ' This is a day 
of great trouble and of rebuke; lift up 
thy prayer for us. Wilt thou go to my 
lord the king, who is now in the house 
of the Lord? The king hath repented 
and would seek the aid of the God of 
Israel, who is the only true God. ' ' ' 

"My brother," said Tirzah, "hath the 
king indeed repented and again returned 
to our God?" 

"Yes, my sister, and the holy prophet 
said to me, 'Tell the king thy master, 
"Be not afraid of the words thou hast 
heard wherewith this servant of the en- 
emy hath blasphemed the true God. His 
armies shall be scattered and he, even 
he, shall die by the sword in his own 
land." ' " 

Kaising his sightless eyes towards 
heaven and extending his hands above 

41 








& 




r 







A Boy's Offering 

his head, the patriarch exclaimed, 
" Blessed be the name of the Lord!" 

"My brother/' said Tirzah, "as I 
came in a few moments ago from the de- 
serted market-place I passed near the 
south gate, and again was this haughty- 
messenger crying out to our men of war 
upon the walls that our God would de- 
ceive us. He had just sent a letter to 
our king, and the messenger took it to 
him even into the house of the Lord 
where our king had gone to pray. It is 
indeed a time of great distress, my 
brother, and already many within the 
walls have no food and they fear the 
cutting off of the water. 

"It was told me that our king had 
prostrated himself before the altar of 
our God with the letter from the enemy 
and had called upon our God to save us, 
and that he was crying aloud, 'Save us 
from our enemies, that all the kingdoms 
of the earth may know that thou and 
thou only art the Lord!' " 

"Yes, my sister," replied Shebna, 
"many of our people are rebuking the 
king and his counsellors and crying out 
that it is better to surrender the city 
now than remain longer besieged and 

42 



■^ 








The Stronger Hand 

die. On my way hither a multitude of 
citizens besought me to advise the king 
to surrender. 

"I said to them, ' Shall I lead forth my 
aged and blind father to become a cap- 
tive and to be carried away to a strange 
land? Shall I see my sister Tirzah the 
slave of one of the enemy and dragged 
away to his foreign temple? Shall I 
forget that the Lord God omnipotent 
reigneth ? No ! A thousand times no ! 
Better to die here trusting in the God of 
our fathers than surrender his holy 
house and its treasures to this heathen 
king. ' 

"Be of good cheer, my father," he 
continued, "and my sister; God will help 
us and that right quickly. I must now 
away to the palace; the king may call 
for me." 

"May the God of Israel bless you, my 
son!" said the aged father as the son 
departed. 

As Shebna passed near the walls of 
the city the sun was sinking in the west, 
shedding a golden hue over the Judsean 
hills. He ascended to the top of the wall 
and looked out over the hills and valleys 
around. He could see the mighty army 

43 



►i* 



V 




Gf. 



£ 

V 



N 

A*. 



\ 



rk 




A Boy's Offering 

of the invaders. Already they had 
closed in about the city. 

Never before had he seen such a pow- 
erful army. There were thousands of 
horses and men of war. Great engines 
or battering-rams to break down their 
walls were being pressed forward in po- 
sitions for attack. Carrying before them 
great shields of skin, the companies of 
the enemy pushed forward towards the 
walls with their men thus protected from 
the arrows of the men of war upon the 
walls. It was evident they intended to 
build great banks of earth against the 
walls, that their soldiers could thus eas- 
ily run up and fight hand to hand with 
the men on the wall while their engines 
of destruction were breaking down the 
gates. 

Looking towards heaven the young 
man exclaimed, " There is no help un- 
less the Lord our God shall by his mighty 
hand intervene to save us ! ' ' 

Hastening on to the king's palace, he 
arrived just as his friend, Asaph's son, 
the king's recorder, came out from the 
king's chamber. 

"Hast any hope, good Joah?" said 
Shebna. 

44 







The Stronger Hand 

"Yes, Shebna, great hope," answered 
the youth. "A message hath just been 
delivered to the king from the holy 
prophet. He said to the king: 

" 'Thus saith the Lord to me: Be- 
cause the king hath repented and hath 
prayed to me to save the people from 
their enemy, he shall not come unto this 
city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither 
shall he come before it with shield, nor 
cast up a mound against it. By the 
way that he came, by the same way 
shall he return, and he shall not come 
unto this city. I will defend this city 
to save it, for mine own sake and for 
my servant David's sake. " 

The night came on, and the camps of 
the enemy surrounding the walls of the 
city had ceased their onward movements 
and the myriads of soldiers were rest- 
ing under the starlight of the peaceful 
night. When the sun went down no cloud 
had appeared in the western sky. The 
weary men of war upon the walls had 
been relieved by others and these were 
now resting upon their bows, looking out 
upon the peaceful night. 

There was no sleep that night in the 
king's palace. Much time was spent be- 

45 



V\ 





r^ 



\ 



A Boy's Offering 

fore the Lord in prayer by the king and 
his court. 

Shebna had found a moment to has- 
ten to his father and Tirzah to tell them 
the word of the Lord which the holy 
prophet had sent to the king, and then 
to hasten back to the palace. 

In vain had Tirzah implored her fa- 
ther to lie down and rest. He had taken 
his seat at the lattice-window and with 
sightless eyes seemed to be looking for 
the coming of his God. Tirzah, seated 
upon the floor at his side, rested her head 
upon his lap. The aged patriarch had 
placed a hand upon her anxious brow 
and in soothing terms had said, "Fear 
not, my Tirzah ! God will deliver us ! " 

It was past midnight. The hand on 
Tirzah 's head tightened its grasp and 
the girl, awakened with a start, cried, 

"What is it, my father?" 

i ' I hear a rumbling as of the approach 
of a mighty wind/' said Eliakim, his 
face still turned towards the open win- 
dow. "Surely there were no signs of a 
storm when the sun went down ! Didst 
notice, Tirzah ?" 

"Yes, my father, I did notice and 
there was no cloud in the sky. ' ' 










\ 



V. 




The Stronger Hand 

The sound now came louder and loud- 
er still, and there arose a mighty wind; 
the heavens were black and lightnings 
filled the sky. The awful flashes were 
blinding to Tirzah. She had already 
closed the lattice, but still the patriarch 
would not lie down, but rather seemed 
inspired that now, even now, in His 
own way, was the Lord about to destroy 
the enemy. 

The morning came and the storm had 
ceased. Tirzah, worn out with much 
watching, was sleeping, her head in her 
father's lap. 

Eliakim realized that there was great 
commotion in the streets of the city be- 
low his chamber. There was a great 
shout which awakened the sleeping girl, 
and hastily opening the lattice she looked 
out. Crowds were running past their 
house and shouting for joy. The door 
of their chamber was suddenly opened, 
and Shebna, all excitement, ran to his 
father's side. 

' ' God hath answered the prayer of his 
prophet and his people, my father! The 
watchmen on the walls report that the 
enemy is in full flight; that thousands 
of them are dead; that in their flight 

47 








A Boy's Offering 

they have abandoned all of their grain 
and other supplies; that even now the 
gates of the city are open and our people 
are bringing into the city vast quantities 
of food left behind by the terrified foe ! 

"A messenger has come to the king 
saying a dying soldier told him that in 
the evening there was a rumor in their 
camp that a mighty army from Egypt 
was about to attack them in the rear; 
that during the awful storm an angel 
went through their camp and thousands 
upon thousands of their men of war 
were slain; that the king had himself 
taken to flight and the remnant of his 
army was following!" 

Eliakim, clasping his arms about his 
children, exclaimed, "Bless the Lord, 
my soul!" 

Thus was the city saved by the hand 
of the Lord of hosts! 



^Hi 





THE SAD PROPHET 



v ^v 




THE day was drawing to a close as a 
Benjamite shepherd lad with his 
dog and his sheep was returning to the 
fold situated on the outskirts of the vil- 
lage. Now and again he would pick up 
a lamb and carry it a distance, while its 
mother kept close by the lad's side and 
with her beautiful eyes looked up at him 
with an expression of sincere thankful- 
ness. 

The sheep would crowd each other to 
secure a place next to the lad's right 
hand as with it he would smooth their 
heads or gently pat their necks and call 
them by name. The dog seemed to be 
jealous of the attention given by his 
young master to the sheep, and would 
frequently push in and make a way 
,hrough the sheep and take his place next 
to his master's hand. After carrying a 
lamb a distance he would put it down 
by its mother's side, and then there 
would be a general scramble of the 
young to be next in his arms. 

49 






A Boy's Offering 

As they approached the sheepfold the 
sheep in front of the flock stopped and 
looking back seemed to hesitate as they 
observed a man seated near the door of 
the fold. 

The lad at once recognized the figure, 
and speaking reassuringly to the sheep, 
they moved on and, passing the man, 
entered at the door of the fold. 

When the door had been securely fas- 
tened the boy and his dog joined the 
man, the tired lad seated himself on the 
ground at the man's feet, and the dog 
dropped down a short distance away, 
but with his nose pointed at the two fig- 
ures and his eyes watching their every 
movement. 

The man was none other than the 
prophet who talked with God. The lad 
was his kinsman, and a great affection 
existed between them. The prophet had 
told the lad much of the history of his 
people and of the promises of God. As 
the tired boy leaned his head against the 
legs of the seated prophet and looked up 
into the sorrowful but kindly face before 
him, he was pleased to feel the hand of 
the holy man upon his shoulder and hear 
him say, 

So 






The Sad Prophet 

"Has it been well with thee to-day, 
my lad?" 

"Yes, kind sir; the sheep are well wa- 
tered and fed and we have had no 
trouble from wild beasts attacking them ; 
but as I sat at noonday I bethought me 
of thy promise to tell me some time of 
the glories of Jerusalem during the days 
of Solomon, the wise king. It is yet an 
hour before the stars will come out. 
Canst tell it to me now? I shall enjoy 
the rest sitting at thy feet." 

The prophet was a tall, thin man with 
long flowing hair, and when standing he 
assumed an erect posture. His otherwise 
youthful face bore an expression of sad- 
ness yet kindness. He had a pleasant 
voice, but filled with an earnestness in- 
dicative of deep spirituality. It was re- 
ported of him that his sadness was his 
continual grief over the sins of his peo- 
ple and of the present wicked King 
of Judah. 

"I knew a scribe in Jerusalem, a 
learned man," said the prophet, "who 
had access to the parchment rolls in the 
Temple ; he has read to me from the rolls 
of the visit of an Eastern queen to the 
great King Solomon at Jerusalem. While 

Si 








& 




A Boy's Offering 

it is now five hundred years since Solo- 
mon reigned, the parchment rolls are in- 
tact, or were at least before the last in- 
vasion by our Eastern foes. The scribe 
has read to me how this queen had heard 
in her own land of the wonderful wisdom 
of the king and' the beauty of the Temple 
he had builded to the Lord. She her- 
self was very beautiful, and she came 
from her own country with a great com- 
pany, and camels that bore spices and 
gold in abundance and precious stones. 

' ' After she had talked with the king 
and observed his great wisdom and had 
seen all the beauties of the house of the 
Lord and the palace of the king, she said 
to him, 'The half has not been told me 
of thy greatness.' 

' ' In departing for her own land even 
this heathen queen said to the king, 
1 Blessed be the Lord thy God, which de- 
lighted in thee to set thee on his throne 
to be king for the Lord thy God. Be- 
cause thy God loved Israel to establish 
them for ever, therefore he made thee 
king over them to do judgment and jus- 
tice.' " 

The lad had listened to the words of 
the holy man with rapt attention, and, 

52 



<& 





r^> 




The Sad Prophet 

looking up into the sad face before him, 
said, 

6 ' Why has all this glory departed from 
our people ? Doth not our God still de- 
light in us ? " 

i ' Our people have sinned continually, ' ' 
was the answer, " despite all the warn- 
ings of the prophets of Israel. Yet God 
loves Israel and will some day redeem 
our people with a great redemption. 

6 ' Thou wert but a child, my son, when 
the great king from the East came into 
our land with a mighty army and en- 
camped about the Holy City. He broke 
down the gates and the walls and carried 
away captive ten thousand of our best 
and mightiest men of valor. He also 
carried away all the treasures of the 
house of the Lord and the treasures of 
the king's house, and he cut in pieces all 
the vessels of gold which Solomon our 
great king had made and which were 
in the Temple of the Lord. 

' ' Then he appointed as king the young 
man who now rules at Jerusalem. He 
was not a Jew, but he changed his name 
to a Jewish one, thinking to please the 
remnant of the people over whom he had 
been made a ruler. For almost ten years 

53 



V 





A Boy's Offering 

now has this man ruled in the Holy City. 
He has exceeded all in his wickedness 
and idolatry. The city is full of evil 
men and women from Egypt, and God's 
name is reviled and heathen gods are 
worshipped. ' ' 

The darkness was now coming on, and 
the lad, sad at heart, started for his 
humble home followed by his faithful 
dog. The man of God remained seated 
near the door of the sheepf old. 

As the stars came out and all was still- 
ness the holy man heard a voice saying 
unto him, 

"I sanctify thee; I have appointed 
thee a prophet unto the nations." 

The prophet prostrated himself upon 
the ground and said, 

"Ah, Lord Jehovah! behold I know 
not how to speak, for I am a child." 

Then the voice of the Lord said to 
him, 

"Say not I am a child, for to whom- 
soever I shaP send thee thou shalt go, 
and whatsoever I shall command thee 
thou shalt speak. Be not afraid because 
of them; for I am with thee to deliver 
thee. Behold, I have put my words in 
thy mouth." 

54 



vj 



•^ 






The Sad Prophet 

The prophet arose, but saw no man, 
but yet again the voice of the Lord said 
unto him, 

"Go and cry in the ears of Jerusa- 
lem." 

Then again the stillness came on and 
the stars shone out in greater brilliancy. 
The holy man returned to the village, 
but not to sleep. His thoughts were upon 
the command of God and his mission to 
the Holy City. At dawn of the next 
day he set out upon his journey. A 
few shekels of silver, some food for the 
journey and his staff were all that he 
took with him. 

On arriving in the Holy City he found 
a hospitable welcome in the house of a 
kinswoman, Kachel, and her daughter 
Leah. KachePs husband had been one 
of the men of valor carried away into 
captivity some ten years before, and she 
was able to support herself by some 
slight service in the king's court. 

For some days the holy man went 
about the city and saw its wickedness 
and its idolatry. He visited the king's 
court and saw the drunkenness and evil 
practices of the king and his courtiers. 
It was reported in the city that the king 

55 



^ 



c ^J - 






A Boy's Offering 

had made an alliance with a king of 
Egypt and even now was in rebellion 
against the Eastern king and his kins- 
man to w T hom he was indebted for his 
appointment. He had taken as a wife 
an Egyptian woman of great beauty but 
of evil character. The laws were dis- 
obeyed by those in authority. Strangers 
in the city were robbed and killed. The 
judges received bribes, and widows and 
orphans for slight cause were put to 
death. 

Then the holy man, remembering the 
promise of God unto him, went boldly 
to the king and in the presence of the 
king and his princes and said to him, 

"Hear, king, what the Lord hath 
said: 'If thou wilt not execute judg- 
ment ,and righteousness and deliver the 
spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, 
and cease to do wrong and cease to do 
violence to the stranger, the fatherless 
and the widow, and cease to shed inno- 
cent blood, I swear by myself, saith the 
Lord, that this house shall become a deso- 
lation !" 

At these words from the prophet the 
king and his wicked princes laughed with 
scorn, and the foreign princes advised 

56 









\ 



Mm 




The Sad Prophet 

the king to put the prophet to death, 
for, as they said, "this speech doth 
weaken the hands of the men of war in 
the city." It was an Egyptian seated 
near the king, evidently a favorite 
prince, who cried out, 

"Hear, king! this man seeketh not 
the welfare of this people but their 
hurt!" 

The king would not permit that the 
prophet be put to death. But the wick- 
ed princes took him and put him down 
into a deep dungeon that was in the 
court of the prison. With ropes they let 
the holy man down into this dark and 
loathsome place. There was no water 
in the bottom of this well-like dungeon, 
but the mire was deep and the holy man 
sank down into it. Then the prophet 
remembered what the Lord had said to 
him — that he should not be afraid and 
that the Lord would be with him — and 
in full hope of the fulfillment of God's 
promise waited in the foul dungeon. 

There was a colored man from Ethi- 
opia who was a servant of the king. It 
grieved him much that the holy man 
should be thus treated, and privately he 
obtained permission of the king to pull 








A Boy's Offering 

the prophet out of the dungeon and keep 
him as a prisoner in the court of the 
prison. 

And thus it was that at dawn of the 
next day the colored man let down ropes 
and clothes for the prophet to put in 
his arm-pits and with his mighty 
strength pulled the prophet out of the 
mire and out of the dungeon and put 
him in a room in the court of the prison. 
Here Rachel found the holy man and 
supplied him with other clothing and 
food in abundance. She told the colored 
man the Lord would surely bless him 
for his kindness to one of His prophets. 

Rachel and Leah visited the prophet 
every day, and on one occasion they told 
him of the great excitement in the city. 
A great army was advancing upon the 
city to destroy it. It was led by the 
king's kinsman who had appointed him 
ruler, and already the army was en- 
camped about the city. 

While the prophet was still in the 
court of the prison a cousin came to see 
him from the land of Benjamin to tell 
the prophet that it was his right, if he 
chose to exercise it, to buy a field near 
his home village. 








V 




The Sad Prophet 

The holy man exercised his right and 
paid seventeen shekels in silver for the 
field. The transaction was before witness- 
es and an entry made of it in a book 
before the witnesses. When the sale was 
completed the prophet gave directions 
that the book be put in an earthen ves- 
sel, the vessel sealed up securely and 
put away for many days, saying, i ' I say 
unto you the Lord will yet possess this 
land, houses and fields and vineyards 
shall be possessed again. David shall 
never want a man to sit upon the throne 
of the house of Israel.' ' 

The siege of the city had now contin- 
ued many months and there was almost 
no food for the soldiers or the citizens. 
Under the advice of the prophet, Rachel 
and Leah had fled by night from the 
city with the hope of reaching their 
home in the land of Benjamin. The peo- 
ple were starving in the city and no help 
seemed near. The Egyptian allies of the 
king had forsaken him and fled to their 
own country. In great distress the king 
sent two messengers to the holy man, im- 
ploring him to call upon the Lord to 
spare the city and destroy the besieging 
army. 





£ 




A Boy's Offering 

The prophet made answer to the mes- 
sengers, * ' Go back and tell y our king 
that the Lord will fight against him 
with an outstretched hand and with a 
strong arm, and will smite the inhabi- 
tants of this city, both man and beast, 
and they shall die of a great pestilence. 
Afterwards he will deliver your king in- 
to the hands of his enemy, and with him 
all of his household and all who shall 
escape the pestilence, and his enemy 
shall not spare him, neither have pity 
nor have mercy." 

In vain did the king himself impor- 
tune the holy prophet. The situation in 
the city was becoming more and more 
desperate. For nearly a year had it been 
besieged. There was now no bread for 
the people, but still the wicked king kept 
the prophet in prison. There was a gate 
between two walls near the king's gar- 
den. It had been carefully guarded by 
the king's servants. Its existence was 
not known outside of the king's house- 
hold. 

The king called his princes together 
and inquired of them as to the possibili- 
ties of longer holding out against the 
enemy. 

60 




% 



to 





^ 



The Sad Prophet 

Then spake Shallum, the captain of 
the king's guard: ''Hear, 0, king, and 
all ye his counsellors! This day have I 
made a thorough examination of our de- 
fences and of conditions in the city. The 
people are dying by hundreds or are 
wasting away with starvation. Even our 
men of war are ill fed and revolt seems 
imminent. On every side the enemy have 
builded mounds and forts and even now 
are preparing to make a final assault 
upon our walls. I advise surrender; 
there is no other way." 

Some of the king's princes were an- 
gered at these words of Shallum, but it 
was apparent that the king himself be- 
lieved the report of the captain of his 
guard. Arising and holding out his 
sceptre, he commanded silence and then 
said, 

"The words which Shallum hath said 
are true. I shall this very night endeav- 
or to escape through the gate between 
the two walls near my garden. All ye 
who care to follow me do so. Even you, 
Shallum, shall inform the men of war 
of the gate and bid them flee, if they 
choose, towards the plains. It may hap 
that in the eagerness of the enemy to 

61 







I 



A Boy's Offering 

take the city on the morrow we can make 
good our escape." 

About midnight of that night the king 
and his counsellors and all of his men 
of war fled from the city through the 
gate, and out into the darkness they si- 
lently sped, hoping ere the morn to 
reach the fords of the river on the east. 

As predicted by Shallum, the enemy 
in the early morning made an assault 
upon the walls, and, undefended, the city 
at once came into their possession. All 
of the people able to walk were chained 
together to be carried away into captiv- 
ity. The others were left to die with 
starvation. 

There was a mighty captain in the 
invading army whose men had found the 
prophet in the prison and led him forth. 
He also was bound with a chain and 
driven forth with the other captives out 
of the city, and the company had halted 
at a near-by village. Here they awaited 
the return of their captain, who with 
most of his men had gone in pursuit of 
the fleeing king and his counsellors and 
his men of war. 

On the return of this mighty captain 
to the village he found among the cap- 

62 



cfj 




<^ 






The Sad Prophet 

tives the holy prophet, and bade his men 
bring him forth. He then said to him, 
"I have heard of your prophecy and 
how you withstood the king of Judah, 
and now even this day have the words 
of your God been fulfilled. Our men of 
war have captured the fugitive king and 
his princes and scattered his men of war. 
Even now is the king bound with a chain 
and attached to one of our chariots, be- 
ing carried into captivity and to death. ' ' 

For answer the prophet said, " Bless 
the Lord, my soul! His word shall 
never fail. Now do thou with me as 
seemeth good to thee." 

Then did this mighty captain who 
knew not the God of Israel say to the 
holy man before him, 

"Behold I loose thee this day from 
the chains which are upon thine hand. 
If it seem good unto thee to come with 
me, come and I will look well unto thee. 
But if it seem ill unto thee to come with 
me, forbear. Behold, all the land is be- 
fore thee. Whither it seemeth good and 
convenient for thee to go, thither go." 
Good captain," said the prophet, 
the Lord will reward thee. As for me 
I shall return to the remnant of my 

63 




V 



\ 




s 




A Boy's Offering 

own people of the tribe of Benjamin. I 
have a small field as an inheritance. This 
field I purchased while yet a prisoner in 
the king's court. Thither will I go and 
dwell in peace. ' ' 

Then said the captain to his men, 
"Kemove that chain irom this holy man. 
Prepare for him an abundance of food 
for his journey. Go a distance with 
him, that he may have safety from our 
men." Then turning to the prophet he 
said, "Take this purse of gold; thou wilt 
need it on thy journey; and may thy 
God in whom thou hast trust be thy con- 
stant companion and guide!" 

That night found the holy man well 
on his journey northward. The guards 
who had journeyed a way with him had 
returned, and the prophet had stopped 
and was preparing to rest for the night. 
Seated upon a rock with his face to- 
wards Jerusalem, he was indeed a man 
of sorrows, and who shall say he had 
not become acquainted with grief? In 
a voice of lamentation he cried out, 

Jerusalem, the Lord hath done 
that he had devised. He hath fulfilled 
his word that he had commanded. He 
hath thrown down and hath not pitied, 




-N 



I 




The Sad Prophet 

and hath caused thine enemy to rejoice 
over thee." 

In the morning the holy prophet jour- 
neyed on and into his own land and 
among his own people remaining out of 
captivity. His heart was sad and a con- 
tinual lamentation was his utterance. 
Yet in his grief over the sins of his peo- 
ple he frequently said, 

"God will yet restore Jerusalem and 
redeem his people." 



^ 



65 




&rM 






14^ 



/ eg 












fN 






MIRIAM'S RETURN. 

ON A beautiful Sabbath morning 
many people were on their way 
home from the synagogue in Capernaum. 
While among the number were some of 
the rich Jews then engaged in business 
in the city and a few of the strict sect 
of the Pharisees, yet by far the greater 
number on this particular morning were 
the common people. The unusual at- 
tendance at the synagogue this Sabbath 
day was because they had gathered to 
hear the Nazarene. Some attended out 
of curiosity to both see and hear the 
man who had performed such wonder- 
ful works of healing in their midst. 

Miriam, the twelve-year-old daughter 
of the ruler of the synagogue, walked 
with her father and seemed to have been 
greatly impressed with the service. She 
felt quite at home in the meeting-house 
of her Jewish family. Here she was in- 
structed, with other boys and girls, at 
least three times each week in the Jew- 
ish law. 





<r 



\ 






A Boy's Offering 

There had been considerable commo- 
tion in and about Capernaum over the 
marvelous works and strange words of 
the carpenter 's son from Nazareth. Many 
of the boys and girls had been witnesses 
of his marvelous power both in healing 
the sick and in making even the lame 
to walk. On one occasion Miriam had 
heard him speak about a kingdom of 
heaven and had wondered what the king- 
dom might be. On returning from the 
meeting-house this Sabbath morning she 
earnestly conversed with her mother 
about what she had heard, saying, 

I listened to every word he said, and 
it was about the new kingdom. He said 
his Father had sent him to open the eyes 
of the blind and to set the captives free. 
He said God was his Father and that 
Israel was to be redeemed. But it was 
not so much what he said, although his 
words were wonderful, as his manner of 
speaking which drew me to him. His 
face was a sad one, but as he spake it 
seemed to be full of light and love. ' ' 

"I have sometimes wondered," said 
her mother, "if the words of our holy 
prophet were to come true even in our 
days and the promised Messiah of Israel 

68 




i r 







?K 



Miriam's Return 

were really to come to redeem our peo- 
ple." 

"Only last week," replied Miriam, 
"the reader at the synagogue read to us 
children out of the prophet Isaiah, ■ The 
redeemer shall come to Zion and unto 
them that turn from transgression/ but 
he did not say when this redeemer was 
to come." 

Miriam 's father was a thoughtful man, 
and listened to this conversation between 
his daughter and her mother, but made 
no comment. In addition to his business 

s a merchant of Capernaum he had will- 
ingly accepted the office of one of the 
rulers in the local synagogue. Among 
his duties in connection with this house 
of meeting were the convening of the as- 
sembly, preserving order during the 
meeting or discussions which frequently 
took place, and inviting readers and 
speakers to attend and to see to it that 
the law was read to the people every 
Sabbath day. 

He was also one of the managers of 

he school. Every Jewish child of twelve 
years of age must be faithfully instruct- 
ed in the Law, and the selection of com- 
petent teachers was no small part of the 

69 









£ 



V 



A Boy's Offering 

father's duties. To be elected by his 
brethren to this church office was a token 
of the respect had for him and evi- 
dence of his high standing in the Jewish 
community. He had been prosperous in 
his business, honest in all his dealings, 
and respected alike by Jew and 
s^ Gentile. 

His home was a very happy one, and 
his daughter Miriam, his only child, now 
fast approaching womanhood, was his 
chief delight. They were very compan- 
ionable and often took long walks togeth- 
er down on the shore of the lake of Gali- 
lee and watched the fishing-boats come in 
with their loads of fish. On several of 
these occasions they had been attracted 
by the crowds of persons near the lake 
listening to the words of the Nazarene, 
as he was called. They had seen some 
of his marvelous cures and were aston- 
ished at his power. 

For nearly two years now had the 
Nazarene been teaching and carrying on 
his wonderful works. Not all the time 
had he been in their vicinity, but recent- 
ly he had stayed there much more. There 
was a rumor in the city that the Eoman 
governor had taken a great dislike to the 






Miriam's Return 




ftv 



Nazarene and only sought a pretext to 
put him to death. The leading Jews of 
the city had no love for their foreign 
ruler, but usually observed the Roman 
law, paid the exorbitant taxes, and 
hopefully looked forward to a deliverer. 

On returning one day from his busi- 
ness, shortly after the conversation he 
had listened to between Miriam and her 
mother, he was greatly grieved as his 
wife said to him, 

* t Our daughter hath been taken griev- 
ously ill with fever. You must hasten 
for a physician. " 

The best medical aid in the city was 
speedily summoned by the father, and 
during the long night which followed 
the anxious parents watched at the bed- 
side of their precious child. Nothing 
seemed to be able to stop the rapid ad- 
vance of the dread disease. Miriam was 
fast failing, and though all remedies pro- 
posed were tried, still the fever seemed 
to be burning up the little maiden. 

Sympathizing friends and neighbors 
were in attendance at the house, and as 
is usual each had suggested some means 
of saving the life of the little girl. Com- 
ing from the bed-chamber for a moment 

7i 





(T 



i 





A Boy's Offering 

the father was importuned by a neigh- 
bor, who said to him, 

' ' Send for the Nazarene ; he is not un- 
friendly to you and perchance he will 
come and save her life. He hath done 
many w T onderful things." 

As all else had failed the father deter- 
mined he would seek the Nazarene and 
implore him to come to their aid. He 
was told that even now he was at the 
house of Matthew, the publican, who had 
given up his collecting of taxes and at 
a word of command had followed the 
Nazarene as one of his disciples. 

Hastening thither, the father found 
the house of Matthew filled with people 
and many gathered on the outside for 
lack of room within. The Nazarene and 
his disciples were sitting at meat with 
Matthew and others. The fact that this 
new teacher of the Jews should sit at 
meat with tax-gatherers and sinful men 
was creating a commotion outside as the 
stricter of the Jews denounced the act. 
Some among the gathering were tax- 
collectors, much despised by the Jews, 
others were women of questionable char- 
acter in the city, and others men noted 
for all manner of sinful ways. 










(K 



Miriam's Return 

Some of those outside of the house 
with gesticulations and loud utterances 
said that no prophet of Israel would con- 
sort w T ith men appointed by the Roman 
power to rob them under the guise of 
taxation. Excitable women cried, "He 
is a prophet of God and he has healed 
my son!" The place of meeting in 
Matthew's house was open on three of 
its sides and the conversation at the 
table could be overheard by those stand- 
ing outside. 

As he approached the house the fa- 
ther's heart failed him. It seemed to him 
impossible to get a hearing or to get 
through the throng and into the pres- 
ence of the Nazarene to make his re- 
quest known. The delay had about con- 
vinced him that it was even now r too late, 
and that his daughter must already be 
dead. 

Through the aid of friends room was 
at last made for him, and the now des- 
perate father pushed his way through 
the crowd and into the presence of the 
Nazarene. At once the disputation as to 
the propriety of eating at table with 
publicans and sinners ceased as the ruler 
of the synagogue prostrated himself with 





V 



A Boy's Offering 

his hands extended on the floor and his 
face resting upon them as he cried, 

"Master, my little daughter lieth at 
the point of death! Come and lay thy 
hand on her that she may be healed and 
live!" 

The dinner at Matthew's house was 
abruptly terminated. A quiet came over 
the gathering. All seemed anxious to 
see what the Nazarene would do. Not a 
word was spoken except the anxious cry 
of the father, whose tones indicated that 
he had faith in the ability of the 
Nazarene to help him in his distress. 

Taking the prostrate father by the 
hand the Nazarene lifted him up, and 
they silently led the way out into the 
streets of the city and on towards the 
home of the afflicted ruler and the bed- 
side of the dying shild. The disciples 
and a large crowd followed them, and 
at times so great was the press of people 
about them that their advance seemed 
impossible. At one time a woman 
pressed into the throng and insisted 
upon touching the hem of the outer gar- 
ment worn by the Nazarene. This caused 
another pause while kind words were 
spoken to the persistent woman, and her 



rf 











Miriam's Return 

illness of long standing was immediately 
cured. 

Once more they started forward, but 
were soon met by some of the neighbors, 
who, returning from the ruler's house, 
said to him, 

"Thy daughter is dead. Why trou- 
blest thou the Master any further ? ' ' 

Then the heart-broken father looked 
into the face of the Nazarene and heard 
his voice saying, 

"Be not afraid; only believe !" 

They stopped a few moments in the 
street while the Master urged the people 
to follow him no more but to return to 
their homes, and he sent them all away- 
They went the more readily as they had 
now heard that it was too late and that 
the little girl was dead. 

After the multitude had dispersed the 
Master took three of his disciples only 
and the ruler of the synagogue and they 
pursued their way to the father's house. 
Before they arrived at the door they 
could hear the loud wailing of the wom- 
en in the house. It was the custom in 
those days to make a great noise in wail- 
ing or bemoaning the death of a friend 
or neighbor. There were persons who 

75 




^ 









m 





m 



V 











A Boy's Offering 

hired themselves out for such occasions, 
and 4 'the louder the noise the greater 
the grief' ' seemed to be the prevailing 
idea. 

Into the midst of this wailing and 
weeping assembly of neighbors and sym- 
pathizers came the Nazarene, but in a 
voice of authority he hushed them, say- 
ing, 

"Why make ye this ado and weep? 
The child is not dead, but sleepeth." 

Some of those present resumed their 
weeping and wailing, and others laughed 
in scorn and derided the Narazene and 
his disciples. 

Having cleared the house of all of its 
occupants except the father and moth- 
er and his three disciples, the Master 
closed the doors and quiet came to all 
within. 

Already the spiced lamps in the ala- 
baster urns were burning, giving out 
their fragrant smoke, filling the air with 
a delicate perfume. The silken curtain 
before the bed-chamber hung in loose 
folds with its tassels drooping to the 
floor. The Master moved the curtain 
silently apart and looked upon the maid- 
en. She lay as though some matchless 

76 

MS- 

i4L 








~OL 



& 





(K 



Miriam's Return 

artist had cut in purest marble a beauti- 
ful form. A linen vesture was folded 
over her breast and upon it rested her 
white transparent hands. Her lips were 
slightly parted in a smile, showing a 
glimmer of polished ivory between the 
lips. Upon her cheek the jet-black lash- 
es lay matching the dark arches which 
seemed like artist's paint upon her brow. 
They had unloosed her hair and it 
was falling loose upon her pillow in 
curls of glossy black. 

The Master raised from her breast one 
of her hands, still showing the rosy 
blush in its tapering nails, and spread 
the fingers in his palm. With a long, 
loving, compassionate look he spake in 
the familiar Aramaic language words 
which interpreted meant, "Bise, my 
child I" 

Immediately a slight flush came upon 
her forehead and along her lips and 
then to her cheeks. The linen vesture 
stirred and the beautiful form of the 
maiden moved within its folds as she 
clasped the Master's hand and arose. 

Clasped in her mother's arms she now 
stood, returned again to earth at the 
Master's call. 




77 



SS'iJfc 



r^ 








<S» 



DEC 9 1913 




A Boy's Offering 

The joy and thankfulness of the ruler 
and his wife were too great to be uttered, 
and even his disciples, who had seen 
many wonderful works done by the 
Master, were astonished with a great 
astonishment. 

Notwithstanding the Nazarene admon- 
ished them all not to tell what occurred, 
it was a matter which could not be kept 
quiet, and the fame -of it went abroad 
throughout the land. 

It is not difficult to believe the tradi- 
tion that the ruler of the synagogue at 
Capernaum and his wife and daughter 
became the devout followers of the 
Nazarene and that their home was fre- 
quently a haven of rest for the worn and 
weary Son of God. 




Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: May 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724) 779-21 1 1 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 243 994 3 £ 



